Shadows
by Greenwoodswierdo
Summary: Okay, here we go. Nyra's mad at Soren, blaming him for Kludd's death. A mysterious visitor comes to the great Ga'Hoole tree, ready and willing to help Soren in this time of trouble. Eglantine, however, also feels an attatchment to the new arrival...
1. Chapter 1

_Please forgive my innacuracy, but I have only read books 1-6. No flames plz. And I will want a few reviews for once. Forgive my impoliteness._

* * *

**Prologue**

Nyra flew silently through the woods of the land known as Beyond the Beyond. She was searching for one thing in particular: a Great Horned owl, who nested in the frosty trees. She lighted down on a branch, exhausted. She saw the signs and knew she had made it. Walking along the branch, she pecked at the edge of a hollow. A pair of dirty yellow eyes stared out.

"Nyra, back? What bring you this time?"

"A job for you, my friend."

The eyes blinked. "What kind of job?"

"Assassination."

The eyes glowed brightly. "What the payment?"

Nyra smiled satisfactorily. "Fifteen buck rabbits."

"Who you want kill?"

"An owl of the Ga'Hoole tree. Soren, a barn owl, traitor of the Pure Ones."

There was much wing flapping, and an Eagle owl leapt onto the limb. Bigger than a great gray, and as old as Nyra, the owl was in her prime. She spoke in great screeches as she lifted off: "Nyra, friend, Widower on her way!" After the Widower had left, another sound of flapping came, more distant than the first. Nyra turned her head around, searching the forest for the source. Nothing but darkness. Nothing, but shadows.


	2. Chapter 2

Soren sighed. He'd been dreaming again. He wouldn't tell anybody unless they asked. This dream was frightening, even for Soren. He had seen a gigantic Eagle owl, with bloodstained talons. The scene had shifted, showing a dead barn owl on the floor, its head bent askew, the heart-shaped face knarled and mauled beyond recognition. Then he had noticed shadows moving, the great horned owl disappeared; in its place was a thing, black as midnight in an eclipse. Its eyes, bright yellow. It had nodded at Soren, then vanished. Gradually, Soren's memory of the dream faded into oblivion as well, only to be remembered in the time when it would be needed most.

* * *

In the brightness of midday, one owl flew. He was a large Barn Owl. His eyes were bright yellow, as if the sun were shining in them. The one thing that kept him from being swarmed by crows was his color: pitch black. If it had been nighttime, he would be completely invisible. He landed on a branch next to a hollow. Walking inside, he whispered in a great, deep voice: "Shadow, Lunaris is here."

A pair of unnerving black eyes stared out from the blackness of the hollow. "What news is brought?" inquired an even deeper voice.

The black barn owl answered grimly. "The Widower is on the prowl again. The time has come once more for a protector to arise."

The eyes blinked. In a solemn voice the answer to an unasked question came: "You are ready, my son. The Realm of Shadows has many warriors, but you are the son of the Protector. As my father before me did to me so many years ago, I bestow the title upon you."

With that, in the ancient ritual of the shadows, the two figures began chanting in a long forgotten dialect:

_Mong ya tunye,_

_Qan yein o na,_

_Lunaris yeni,_

_Loma Linos, Arentious leeq_

_Ghuren byunis, jhin pkyn bhun_.

The words, written in ancient Mirrhulian, translate as follows:

_We are shadows,_

_Born of darkness,_

_Lunaris comes and waits for thee,_

_Children of light thou shalt be avenged,_

_Darkness comes to bring evil's end._

Once the ritual was over, the black barn owl bowed low before his father. "Thank you for bestowing this wonderful honor upon me. I will do my best to protect all of my companions, as well as the secrets and legends of the Realm of Shadows."

"Then go, my son, and do your duty. Protect the guardian of Ga'Hoole, Soren." The voice of Shadow carried away on the wind as Lunaris winged his way to the sea of Hoolemere. "Protect the hope of owlkind."

* * *

Twilight. The time of day when the sun sets below the sky, creating a beautiful display of color. Eglantine stared outward, up early in order to watch this amazing scene. She stared in awe at the beautiful blend of pinks, reds, and deep purples. She sighed. For the past few weeks she had been feeling very lonely, though for the life of her she couldn't figure out why. She had been trying to get closer to Soren, but it didn't seem to help. She turned her head slowly around, as only owls can, so she could get a better view of the beautiful scene before her. She jumped slightly when she heard her brother's voice behind her.

"Good evening."

"Indeed it is. What are you doing out here?" she asked.

Soren churred. "Same thing as you, I suppose. Watch the sun set."

Eglantine nodded. "Soren, lately I've been feeling very…ummm…lonely."

Soren smiled. "That's only to be expected. You're old enough now to begin to want a mate. If you're feeling lonely it's because you are ready. I began feeling like that about the time of the great siege." He winked. "And I'm still single!" Both of them started churring uncontrollably.

It was much later, when tweener was served, that the Chaw of Chaws got to see Digger. When he finally took his seat on Mrs. Plithiver, he looked very troubled.

"What is it, Digger?" Gylfie asked. "You look as if someone yarped in your milkberry oatmeal!"

Digger shook his head sadly. "I'm just worried. Nyra hasn't made a single move that we've seen in a long time. I fear for our safety."

Gylfie wasn't convinced. "I don't think that you're telling the whole truth. Something else is wrong, isn't there?"

Digger sighed. He really didn't want to talk right now, and especially not about this. "Sorry, Gylfie. I'm just feeling a little discouraged right now. Maybe we can talk later."

Gylfie accepted that and the Chaw kept on eating. When they were finished, Soren pulled Gylfie off to one side. "Pardon me," he began, "but could you keep a lookout for a nice male barn owl?"

Gylfie nodded. "Sure. But why?"

Soren shrugged. "Eglantine's been getting…well…lonely."

"Ahhhhhh…"

Soren nodded. "Precisely. Just keep an eye out, please."

"Okay."

* * *

Sylvana sighed for the umpteenth time. Maybe sending him on errands for her while all the while giving him hints was the wrong approach. He did them willingly, but never seemed to pick up on the hints. The pretty tracking ryb sighed once more and trundled off to see if she could find a better way to tell him.

* * *

Eglantine smiled. She knew. Of course she knew. She had heard Soren's conversation with Gylfie at tweener. She thought it was nice of him to think of her before himself; after all, like he had said at sunset, he was indeed still single. He had no mate. He didn't even have a potential mate. She didn't either, and he was dealing with her first. However, she hadn't seen any male barn owls in Ga'Hoole besides Soren for a long time. This thought saddened her. _Oh well,_ she thought, pushing the idea of finding a potential mate to the back of her mind. What she focused on now was very important. A tremor ran through her gizzard. She had had a dream last daylight. She, unlike Soren, remembered her dream all too well. She had seen the same thing as Soren, with one exception: She had seen what the black 'thing' was. It was a pure black barn owl, and it had spoke to her in a great, bass voice.

He had said to her: "Beware! The Widower comes! Keep watch, Bold one, for the one who flies with darkness, for he shall be thy Protector!" Then, in a tongue that she could not understand, he had said, "Remiu uynires Lunaris ytugia kainite."

Eglantine perched, contemplating the dream. It was obviously a warning. But to whom? Who was the one who 'flies with darkness'? What significance did he/she have? And who the hags mire was the Widower? All these questions and more filled her head. It was way to much for her to handle. Her head was spinning and her gizzard trembling from sheer exhaustion. She decided to go to her hollow to have a little rest.


	3. Chapter 3

Onward Lunaris flew. Though he was alone, he sometimes felt the presence of his father beside him.

He had been gifted with the power of a seer from birth. Yet he had no starsight. From what he knew, he had the ability to contact others through their dreams. He had contacted Soren first and Eglantine second through their dreams. Soren, however, had woken up before he could be warned. Therefore, Lunaris had contacted Eglantine as well. He would have said more, for he sensed what her purpose in all this was, but having been unable to see her, let alone speak to her beak to beak, he wasn't quite sure of his deduction. Nontheless, he was quite confident that he was right. He needed to get to the island of Hoole before the Widower, but as he could fly by day as well as by night, he probably would. Being from the Realm of Shadows, he knew the crows and were respected by them. Whenever he came upon a colony he instructed them to be on the lookout for a giant eagle owl. Then he would continue on his way toward the island of Hoole and the great Ga'Hoole tree.

Later in the night, after having a small snack, Lunaris tried to contact Soren again. It didn't work. Then he kept going, never stopping. He was now flying over the Cape of Hoole, gateway to the sea of Hoolemere. He felt the wild Hoolespyrrs whipping around him and the wind threatened to blow him off course. He decided to land. It was a risk, for time was short, but dawn was almost upon him anyway, and once the fog burned off, he could continue. For now, he would try to enter the dreams of either Soren or Eglantine.

***

Ezylryb was exhausted. After going on patrol around St. Aggies to make sure that it really was abandoned by the Pure Ones, he had been occupied teaching the new weather chaw recruits firsthand how to fly in the wild Hoolspyrr winds that battered this lake and its surroundings. Now he was expected to fly patrol of Hoolemere? This was too much for his old wings to handle. But he had to do it, for the sake of the great tree's safety. He decided to take Soren along with him; a barn owl, with his hearing abilities and the ability to read darkness, could prove invaluable. Soren's youth would also come in useful. He called his nest-maid snake and old friend, Octavia, into his hollow. "Could you please send for Soren? He is needed for important business."Octavia nodded and slithered off.

Soren was tired, but ever eager to help Ezylryb, he appeared ready and waiting in the great ryb's hollow in a very short time. Ezylryb smiled. Soren was definitely ready for this. "Soren," he began, "I have been told that we need to have a patrol around the sea of Hoolemere. You will be in charge of the patrol. I will fly point, but when it comes time to listen and read the darkness, you will lead."

Soren's surprise showed on his face. "Me, lead a patrol? B-but im not sure…"

"Ezylryb churred softly. "Great Glaux, Soren, we don't have time for idle chatter! To work we go!"

Soren soared over the sea of Hoolemere, Ezylryb following close behind. As they flew, it became brighter and brighter. Soon they were on the last leg of the patrol. Soren was about to turn back to the island when he saw something. Black. Pitch black. At first Soren thought it was a crow, but then he saw the talons and the absence of a straight beak. He called back to Ezylryb, "Foreign owl! Foreign owl!"

Ezylryb flew up next to Soren. "What species, can you see?"

Soren shook his head. "No, but if it's a barn owl we'd best keep our voices down. Yes, it looks like a barn owl. See how it swivels it's head? It's triangu… " Soren clamped his beak shut.

Ezylryb understood at once and made sure to be very quiet.

The foreign owl was listening. It would be best for them to remain as silent as possible.

A tremor ran through their gizzards. If this were a friendly, then perhaps the owl would come in handy. If not…Twilight might actually have some fun again.

Lunaris shivered. He felt the gaze of other owls upon his back. He heard them whispering to each other. But he couldn't tell where they were. Then he looked up. It had been a while since he had, and was checking to see if the fog was gone. Then he saw crows flapping toward a pair of owls; one a barn owl like himself, and the other an old whiskered screech. He spread his wings and leapt into flight.

Soren's eyes widened when he saw the strange black barn owl leap into flight. Soren was already in fierce combat with the crows behind him, and now the black owl was coming too. He only hoped that the black owl would help them and not harm them. The former was to happen. The owl stopped and hovered a short distance away from the battle. A burst of what seemed to be nonsense spewed from the black owl's beak, and to Soren's amazement the crows flew away. The black owl, however, stayed right where he was.

"Hello, Soren." the black owl said. Nodding at Ezylryb, he continued, "Greetings, Lyze, from my father."

The light of recognition shone in Ezylryb's eyes. "Ahhh, I should've remembered my old friend. Tell Shadow that I send my regards and congratulations. What, by the way, is your name?"

Lunaris nodded. "My name is Lunaris. I will tell my father these things upon my return. I am afraid, however, that there are ill tidings for the great tree."

***

Barran and Boron, the two monarchs of the Island of Hoole, along with Soren and the other rybs, were inside the parliament hollow. All had to strain their eyes to see Lunaris in the flickering light. "Now, young'n," Ezylryb began, "what exactly is the great danger to the tree?"

Lunaris answered without hesitation. "I'm very much afraid, my friends, that the Widower is on the move."

There was a collective gasp throughout the hollow. Ezylryb's eyes widened. "No…" he whispered.

Soren was nonchalant. He had no idea who the widower was, but he knew, or thought he knew, why this thing was coming. "Nyra sent this Widower to kill me, didn't she?"

Lunaris nodded. "Yes, Soren."

"How could that affect the whole tree?" Sylvanaryb asked.

Ezylryb turned his head to look at her. "Because, if we did not have Soren, the glue that keeps us together, we would fall apart. He is the most important owl of us all, and he has purposes not yet revealed to him. If we did not have him, we would not have the strength, nor the resolve to fight against the Pure Ones, or any other evil."

Lunaris nodded grimly. "And now he is in danger. I may only be the son of Shadow, the protector, but I am the protector now as well. It is my sworn duty to protect any who need it. Soren, I shall be your shield. I give you my life."

Soren smiled. A tear trickled down his cheek feathers. "Thank you, Lunaris." Then he had an idea. "There's someone who I'd like you to meet…"


	4. Chapter 4

"Hi Soren. Who's this?"

Soren smiled. "This is Lunaris."

The moment Eglantine had seen the black barn owl she had liked him. "Oh…uh…hi. I'm Eglantine."

Lunaris smirked. "I know."

Eglantine thought she should have been surprised, but this owl was so strange anyway that it did not. "I've never seen a Barn Owl quite your…color."

Soren glared at her, but Lunaris brushed the comment aside. "I didn't think so. Don't be so angry at her, Soren. I know of very few who wouldn't comment. After all, we are very rare. Only live west of the Shadow Forest, in the realm of shadows. So far, you and the crows are the only ones who have not commented on my strange color."

Both Soren and Eglantine gaped. "You talk to crows?" Soren asked disbelievingly.

Lunaris chuckled. "Oh yes, they're rather talkative. We of the Realm of Shadows enjoy a kind of peace with crows, and we can fly day or night."

"And," he said, surreptitiously winking at Eglantine, "Anyone who is with us enjoys that benefit too."

Ezylryb flew up. "Yes, so I heard. They say, Lunaris, that your mother was once a normal barn owl, but when she entered the Realm of Shadows she became black as midnight."

Lunaris nodded. "That she was. I believe that she was one of my father's clients and they grew very attached to each other. Over time, they liked each other so much that they mated, even if it was only so that they could preen each other more freely." Lunaris churred. Ezylryb sighed.

"Yes, I remember your father. Bold owl. Big too. Very rare that a barn owl is about two feet tall. Must have good food over there."

Lunaris nodded. "All owls there are. In fact, every creature there is exceptionally large. Just be glad that there are no eagle owls over there. They'd be huge."

Now Ezylryb churred. "Yes, they would. Fortunately for me, your father was a powerful fighter. Not every day that a giant owl comes careening in to kill me."

Soren shook his head."Everybody really wants to kill you, don't they?"

Ezylryb nodded. " It sure seems that way sometimes. Say, where'd Lunaris go?"

Soren looked around. "I can't see him either. Oh, hi Gylfie."

The little elf owl smiled at Soren. "If you're looking for Lunaris, he's over there, chatting with Eglantine."

Soren barely stifled a churr. "Well, we won't disturb them. Right, Ezylryb?"

Even the old ryb was barely containing a churr. "Right, Soren. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have some pressing matters to attend to." With that, Ezylryb flew off, churring silently to himself. Soren looked a bit confused. Then he turned his head, and as he did so, he picked up snatches of the conversation between Lunaris and Eglantine. As he listened, a faint smile twitched at the corners of his beak.

"So, what's the Realm of Shadows like?"

Lunaris and Eglantine were chatting happily away, oblivious to all around them. "It's a beautiful place, especially for owls. It's almost always dark, and when it isn't, you can still fly around, as the crows won't bother you."

"Really?" Eglantine was amazed. The crows always bothered any owl anywhere as far as she knew.

"Yeah," Lunaris replied. "but the best thing of all is the trees. You can't imagine the size of the hollows you can have there. Some of them are larger than the Parliament hollow you have here."

Now Eglantine was really incredulous. "No way! What type of trees are they?"

Lunaris churred silently; he was enjoying this. "They're called redwoods, and they're thee biggest trees around. They say that the Ga'Hoole tree is the largest ever. They're wrong; our parliament is based in a giant tree known to the Others as the General Sherman. I have no idea why they picked that particular name, but…"

"There are Others there?"

Lunaris snorted. "There are no more Others there than there are here. Extinct everywhere, or so I'm told."

Eglantine was suspicious instantly. "You mean you've…?"

"No, I'm just stating that. The Others were once the most powerful species on Earth. And the smartest. After all, they gave us our formal names."

"Yes, I suppose you're right. Now let's get back to the subject. How's the food?"

Lunaris's golden eyes twinkled. "Ahh, yes, the food. You roast and cook your meat, right?"

Eglantine nodded.

Lunaris smiled. "We do that too. The only difference is the way that we cook it. We put it in a bucket filled with crushed olives or water. You can't imagine what that does to the flavor!"

Eglantine shook her head and grinned. "No, I can't. C'mon, I'll show you the rest of the tree."

Soren churred softly. His plan was working perfectly.

******************************************************************************** Much later, Lunaris was tired. VERY tired. Eglantine really had shown him the whole tree. Then they had met a young spotted owl named Otulissa. She had seemed nice enough, until she had started yapping their ear slits off.

Lunaris had excused himself, explaining that he had flown day and night for a long time to get here. Both of them understood, and he entered his nest in Soren's hollow.

"He's an expert on moving unseen."

"I know. Under the circumstances, I'm fairly sure that he can teach the Chaw."

"When he is awake, let him know. He will be delighted to know he will be helping the Chaw of Chaws."

"The chaw will be glad to have him." The great white snowy churred a bit. "Especially Eglantine."

"Alright, you lot," Lunaris said, standing in front of the Chaw of Chaws. "I have been informed by Ezylryb," he continued, "that we need a stealth force. And I have been instructed to be that ryb."

Otulissa raised a talon. "Excuse me, what are your regulations?"

Lunaris smiled maliciously. "I was going to get to them. Number one: Listen to me. What I say may save your life one day. Number two: Raise your talon to speak; if you do not, you will be immediately, but not severely, given a flint mop. In your terms, Otulissa, keep your vocal cords from vibrating at any frequency, otherwise you will be castigated. And finally, Rule number three: Feel free to practice wherever you are; it will improve you."

Lunaris grinned at the expression on Otulissa's face. He could tell that she had been shaken by his words that were bigger than hers. "Alright, the first thing about remaining unseen. You must absolutely remain in the shadows no matter what. Do not, at any cost, glance outward to see your enemy. Use your hearing. I shall demonstrate." With that, Lunaris stepped into the shadow of a false tree that he had set up in this training/instructing hollow. Soren and the others knew what would happen, but nontheless they were still amazed that the only thing that gave evidence that Lunaris was still there was his glittering, golden eyes. He stepped out of the shadows, and they could see him once more.

"Now you try." They did. The closest one to Lunaris' results was Twilight, who's grey color blended with the shadows, making him seem to shimmer and shift, the way that Mist had back in the days before the siege. Soren had the most difficulty, as he was large and mottled white.

"Tonight's lesson is over. If you wish, you may practice here, in the hollow.

******************************************************************************** Lunaris sighed heavily. A week had gone by. One week of training in the unseen. One week of waiting for the Widower. A week of spending time bonding with Eglantine. Not that that was a problem.

Soren was happy. For Eglantine and for himself. He had never thought that Eglantine would ever find a potential mate. However, she had. And he had found one, too. He pushed the thought of her out of his gizzard and focused on camoflauge. Lunaris had taught him many things about blending in with the surroundings, rather than the shadows. This was useful in spying, as well as just having fun. He enjoyed popping out of nowhere at Otulissa. It, of course scared her half to death, but nevertheless Soren thought it was funny. He had to watch his back, though. Eglantine enjoyed sneaking up on HIM, and though she rarely succeeded, when she did she always rolled on the floor, churring like mad.

Eglantine, however, was occupied with other, more important matters than frightening her brother. She was far more interested in her instructor right now. She was chattering away with Lunaris, asking him about unseen movement and all that he had taught them so far. That and she was also asking him about the Realm of Shadows. He was eager to tell her everything he knew about his home. He had no reason not to, after all. He knew she needed to know these things, though he wasn't quite sure why.

"Aaaauuuuugggggghhhhhh!!!!!!" Otulissa screamed. Twilight had snuck up on her. Again. Gylfie sniggered inside her hollow. Otulissa was a popular target for such things. Most likely because she annoyed everyone with her incessant chatter.

Gylfie had been resting in her hollow, but now that she was up and about she figured she might as well go see Soren. The leader of the Chaw of chaws often felt lonely, seeing as most who came to see him were searching for answers, and not as friends. Gylfie would never admit it, but she too looked up to Soren. Ever since the Siege she had noticed something new in him. Something that she could not quite pinpoint. It was hard for her to say this to Soren, for she did not want him to think odd things about her.

But he was.


End file.
